USC sophomore De’Anthony Melton announced Wednesday he will withdraw from school and will enter the NBA draft, according to sources close to the player.

Melton has been sidelined this season because of a possible link to the FBI’s college basketball bribery probe.

The university, which declared him ineligible in December, conducted an internal investigation that determined that Dave Elliott, a close family friend, accepted impermissible benefits from an aspiring sports agent.

Melton, a 6-foot-4 guard, was formally ruled out for the season in early January, but remained enrolled in school and continued to practice with the team as recently as Monday before it left for its final road trip of the regular season.

“Being a member of the Men’s Basketball Program has given me the opportunity to develop my skill set at a world-class institution, with access to top-level resources,” Melton wrote in a letter published on Twitter. “I have reached a crossroads wherein I have decided to focus on honing my strengths and improving upon my weaknesses for competition at the next level.”

Melton said he reached his decision following “much thought and consideration” and in consultation with his family.

“I will always be a Trojan at heart. Fight On!” his statement ended.

Melton started 25 games for the Trojans as a freshman last season and was a versatile player, averaging 8.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. The only freshman to average as many rebounds, assists, steals and blocks since the 1992-93 season was Dwyane Wade, according to Sports-Reference.com.

Coaches considered Melton one of the team’s best defenders, often using a 6-foot-8 wingspan to his advantage. His 1.9 steals ranked second in the Pac-12 last season.

He previously starred at Crespi High and was named the Southern Section Division 3 Player of the Year in 2016. He was not, though, a high-profile recruit. When he signed with USC prior to his senior season, the Trojans had been the only program from a so-called Power 5 Conference to offer him a scholarship.

USC first announced in November it was withholding Melton from participating in games as a “precaution” before deciding to sideline him for the rest of the season.

In an interview this month with the Southern California News Group, USC athletic director Lynn Swann said his participation would have risked the team forfeiting games, though it did not find any wrongdoing involving Melton.

“We came to a conclusion, based on the actions of the family friend, that De’Anthony would be considered non-compliant,” Swann said. “If he had played in these games, these games would potentially have been forfeited. We felt the best thing to do, while still advocating and trying to find a way if the facts would support it, that he could play, while certainly making sure the team was compliant and could move forward. At the end of the day, we had to make that decision.”

Melton’s return to USC next season had remained unlikely.

In its statement in January announcing the remainder of Melton’s season-long suspension, the school left open the possibility of his return to the court, but it made no assurances that he would be reinstated.

The Trojans face Colorado on Wednesday night. They are currently in a tie with UCLA for second place in the Pac-12 standings, but remain on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Joey Kaufman is the USC beat writer for the Southern California News Group. Since joining the Orange County Register in 2015, he has also covered Major League Baseball and UCLA athletics. His work has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors and Football Writers Association of America. Kaufman grew up in beautiful downtown Burbank.

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